Internet ban on 'child porn' album sleeve

Britain's rules on internet censorship have come under scrutiny following a decision to block pages on Wikipedia after a page on the site showing the image of a naked young girl on an album cover from 1976 was declared "potentially illegal".

The online encyclopedia was placed on a blacklist by British internet providers over the weekend, because of the Wikipedia page discussing the album Virgin Killer by German rock group the Scorpions.

Britain's de facto online censor, the Internet Watch Foundation, enacted the ban after receiving a complaint that an image of the album sleeve was child pornography. The album has never been banned in the UK and is still available in shops.

The IWF said it had decided that the image was "potentially illegal" after examining it.

Sarah Robertson, director of communications for the IWF, said the decision to ban the page, taken after consulting the UK's Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) agency, was being reviewed. "The assessment was done in partnership with law enforcement ... the Scorpions image was deemed to be one on a scale of one to five, where one is the least offensive."

The system run by the IWF, which is a self-regulated organisation, is used by most of Britain's ISPs to screen out illegal content. The group focuses on censoring images of child abuse, and keeps a blacklist of all websites it deems to be illegal.

"The question is how far this episode challenges current UK practice around censoring content online," said Becky Hogge of campaign organisation the Open Rights Group.